University of Pittsburgh

UNDERGRADUATE
Bulletin

Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences

MAJOR AND MINOR DESCRIPTIONS BY DEPARTMENT

 

 

ECONOMICS

A major in economics can be designed to serve a variety of purposes in the general liberal arts and can provide a background for postgraduate study in a number of professional schools. In addition, economics is frequently taken as a dual major with business at the undergraduate level. Among the graduate-level options which can be pursued by economics majors are law, business, professional-level training in economics, public administration, professional health management, hospital administration, urban affairs, and transportation studies. Because the range of interests among economics majors is quite broad, students are encouraged to work out a plan of studies fitting their individual needs with a departmental advisor. For more information on the major, the minor, and the Department of Economics, see www.econ.pitt.edu.

General Major Requirements

Majors may earn either a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts in economics. The general rules and requirements as they apply to both degrees are as follows:

  • A minimum overall 2.00 GPA is required in all economics courses for graduation with an economics major.
  • A minimum grade of C- is required in ECON 0100 Introduction to Microeconomic Theory, ECON 0110 Introduction to Macroeconomic Theory, ECON 1100 Intermediate Microeconomics, EDUC 1110 Intermediate Macroeconomics, MATH 0120 and MATH 0220.
  • No ECON course that counts toward the major may be taken on an  S/NC basis.
  • Students must complete at least one writing-intensive (W) course in the major.
  • Credit by exam is usually not accepted, but students should check with the departmental advisor about the possibility.
  • Majors may choose to complete a double major. Frequently chosen double majors include economics with computer science, history, and philosophy. Less frequently chosen are the sciences (notably biology), which could lead to graduate-level options in public health fields. Interested students have the option of completing a joint major with the mathematics department that will prepare students for a quantitatively oriented job in industry or for entering graduate school in applied mathematics, statistics, economics, business, or a related field (see mathematics major). A structured program leading to a joint Dietrich School /business major is available for students interested in combining economics with business (see Nondepartmental Dietrich School Majors for details).
  • ECON 0800, ECON 0810, and ECON 0820 are designed for non-majors are therefore do not count toward the major.
  • Internship credits do not count toward the major. Students are encouraged to do internships.
  • Only three credits of ECON 1901 through ECON 1903 may be applied toward the credits required for the major.
  • Honors in economics is granted if, in addition to fulfilling all requirements for the economics major, the student meets the following criteria:
    • Maintenance of a GPA of 3.5 in all economics courses
    • Maintenance of an overall GPA of 3.5 or better
    • Completion of at least 3 credits in the economics proseminar series (ECON 1700–1730)
Requirements for a BA in Economics

Students seeking a BA in economics must earn at least 27 credits in economics courses including the following:

  • ECON 0100 Introduction to Microeconomic Theory
  • ECON 0110 Introduction to Macroeconomic Theory
  • ECON 1100 Intermediate Microeconomics
  • ECON 1110 Intermediate Macroeconomics
  • Two Economics elective courses*
  • Two ECON 1000-level elective courses which require ECON 1100 or ECON 1110 as prerequisites
  • One ECON 1000-level elective course
  • ECON 0900 Economics; Introduction to the Field Majors

* ECON 0800 does not count as an ECON elective course.

Students seeking the BA must also take the following corequisite courses:

  • One of the following
    • MATH 0126 Calculus for Business 1 and MATH 0126 Calculus for Business 2
    • MATH 0120 Business Calculus
    • MATH 0220 Analytic Geometry and Calculus I
  • One of the following
    • STAT 0200 Basic Applied Statistics
    • STAT 1000 Applied Statistical Methods
    • STAT 1100 Statistics and Probability for Business Management*

 

* STAT 1000 or STAT 1100 is required for students pursuing the Economics/Business Dual major. Students pursuing this major are exempted from taking BUSECN 1010 since its equivalent is ECON 1100.

 

Requirements for a BS in Economics

Students seeking a BS in economics must earn at least 24 credits in economics courses including the following:

  • ECON 0100 Introduction to Microeconomics Theory
  • ECON 110 Intermediate Microeconomics
  • ECON 0110 Introduction to Macroeconomic Theory
  • ECON 1110 Intermediate Macroeconomics
  • Two economics elective courses
  • Two ECON 1000-level courses that require ECON 1100 or ECON 1110 or their equivalents as prerequisites
  • ECON 0900 Economics: Introduction to the Field Major
  • One of the following
    • ECON 1150 Applied Econometrics 1
    • ECON 1180 Mathematical Economics

*ECON 0800 does not count was an ECON elective course

     

Students seeking the BS must also take the following corequisite courses:

  • MATH 0220 Analytic Geometry and Calculus 1
  • One of the following
  • MATH 0230 Analytic Geometry and Calculus 2
  • STAT 1000 Applied Statistical Methods
Requirements for a Minor in Economics

The set of courses required for the minor in economics provides an introduction to the core theory in economics and explores some of the issues that economists study. The four core theory courses are taught each term, along with a broad range of applied economics courses. The required courses (totaling 15 credits) are as follows:

  • ECON 0100 Introduction to Microeconomic Theory
  • ECON 0110 Introduction to Macroeconomic Theory
  • ECON 1100 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory or ECON 1110 Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
  • Two additional ECON courses

Courses in the 0800 series do not count toward the 15 credits required for the minor in economics, and only 3 credits of ECON 1901–1903, directed studies, may be applied toward minor requirements. Other than these restrictions, the two additional courses mentioned above may be any of the courses offered by the department.

Economics-Statistics Joint Major

The economics-statistics joint major is intended for students who are interested in economics and enjoy modeling and analyzing data. Although the number of such students is not large, there are usually a few each year who express an interest in pursuing both economics and statistics in a depth suitable for a major. More often than not, these students are prime candidates for graduate school, and want to keep their options open as to which field to enter later. Short of completing two bachelor’s degrees, their only option now is to major in one subject and minor in the other. If they later decide to attend graduate school in their minor subject, they are likely to be less competitive for admission to the best departments than if they had majored in that subject.

A joint major provides a useful compromise to keep their options open. Additionally, a joint major in economics and statistics can be an excellent training ground for the more quantitative areas of business (such as forecasting, investment management, actuarial planning, and accounting), health management, and public health, without losing the breadth provided by a liberal arts program. Graduates of the joint major who are interested in these areas will have the requisite skills for further training or for immediate entrance into the job market. The curriculum for the joint major consists of eight economics courses and eight statistics courses, along with a statistics writing practicum and three mathematics courses, for a total of 62 credits.

Course Requirements for Economics-Statistics Joint Major:

Economics courses as follows:

  • ECON 0100 Introduction to Microeconomic Theory
  • ECON 0110 Introduction to Macroeconomic Theory
  • ECON 1100 Intermediate Microeconomics and
  • ECON 1110 Intermediate Macroeconomics
  • ECON 1150 Applied Econometrics 1
  • ECON 1200 Introduction to Game Theory
  • One economics elective course*
  • One ECON 1000-level courses that requires ECON 1110 or ECON 1110 as a prerequisite

*ECON 0800 does not count as an ECON elective course.

Statistics courses as follows:

  • STAT 1000 Applied Statistical Method
  • STAT 1151 Introduction to Probability
  • STST 1152 Introduction to Mathematical Statistics
  • STAT 1221 Applied Regression
  • STAT 1223 Writing Practicum
  • Four elective STAT courses, chosen from the 1200 level or above: one of these electives must be from the 1600 level or above, excluding internships and directed study courses.

Note: Students who plan to study statistics at the graduate level are encouraged to take STAT 1631 Intermediate Probability and STAT 1632 Intermediate Mathematical Statistics.

Mathematics courses as follows:

  • MATH 0220 Analytic Geometry and Calculus 1
  • MATH 0240 Analytic Geometry and Calculus 3
  • One of the following
    • MATH 0230 Analytic Geometry and Calculus 2 or
    • MATH 0235 Honors 1—Variable Calculus
           
     

Note: Students are strongly encouraged to take a course in linear algebra, such as MATH 0280 Introduction to Matrices and Linear Algebra or MATH 1180 Linear Algebra 1 or MATH 1185 Honors Linear Algebra

Due to the interdisiplinary nature of the major, a related area is not required.